Early playing time important to Blackwell

In the 2010 class Tennessee set out to land some of the nation’s best wide outs. Ted Meline, Markeith Ambles, Matt Milton, and Kenbrell Thompkins are all guys who could enter the picture at Tennessee next fall and see early action. However, the Vols have also started working on the 2011 recruiting class and are giving a lot of focus as well to talented wide out.

Victor Blackwell (Santa Ana, CA/ Mater Dei) is a 6’1 190 pound wide that hails from one of the nation’s most prolific high school football programs in Mater Dei. Blackwell is considered to be a great deep threat while also having the skills and body to by a physical possession receiver. For that case, this talented wide out go an early scholarship offer from Lane Kiffin and the Vols.

VolNation.com caught up with this talented 2011 player to see how his senior season went and where things currently stand.

“I felt like we did pretty well as a team and I reached my goal of 1,000 yards receiving,” said Blackwell. “I didn’t do as well as I thought I could have but I still had a very good year.”

The Mater Dei Monarchs had a somewhat down year this year going 6-5 due to the loss of a huge group of seniors that included current USC starting quarterback Matt Barkley.

Those two strong seasons have catapulted the talented wide out into the college coaches eyes and one that many programs are already offering scholarships for.

“Right now I have three scholarship offers, Tennessee, UCLA, and Cal,” said Blackwell. “I also hear a good amount from Arizona, Oregon, USC, Miami, and Alabama.”

Tennessee is one of the programs that first started talking with Blackwell and were also one of the first three to extend a scholarship offer to Blackwell.

“I got my scholarship offer from the Vols back in September when the season first started,” said Blackwell. “ I am pretty interested in what Tennessee has to offer me because it is a school that is up and coming and there is that chance to play early at Tennessee.”

Playing time isn’t the only other thing that Blackwell likes with the Vols.

“The fact that Tennessee isn’t on the west coast is something that intrigues me,” said Smith. “It’s a long ways a way and it is a chance I could see something new.”

Blackwell went on to talk about how a few other schools however present the same type of early playing time.

“Cal, Oregon, and UCLA also have an opportunity to give me a shot at playing early so that is something I like about those schools as well,” said Blackwell. “I still need to do a lot of research into programs because I am still learning a lot about each school so we shall see where it goes.”

Being a junior however hasn’t stopped Blackwell from thinking about what he wants to see in a college and what areas they will need to be strong in for him to consider them for his future home.

“Right now I am looking for a school who first has choice of major (law or medical school) and then I want to know that the school can prepare me for the NFL or also for the workforce,” said Blackwell. “I also want to go somewhere I have the chance to earn early playing time. I’d like to try to get on the field as fast as possible.”

So while the Tennessee coaches are out hitting the recruiting trail as hard as ever for the 2010 class, keep early tabs on this 2011 player, as the Vols have already caught his eye and look to be an early player for his services.